


The "Meeting"

by RedWrites



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-07
Updated: 2017-02-17
Packaged: 2018-05-05 09:37:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 12,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5370497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedWrites/pseuds/RedWrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marinette and Chat "meet", and each discover that, while perhaps not their first choice, the other has their own charms.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The "Meeting"

Marinette closes the door after her conversation with Chat Noir and leans against it. Her heart is racing, but she wasn’t sure why. She doesn’t even like him, and he certainly doesn’t like her. He wants to be with Ladybug. She was just flattering him to help her cover. So why did her heart skip a beat when he smiled at her?

* * *

Adrien sits in his room, looking out of his window. Marinette sure was excited to meet Chat Noir. It was understandable. He’s a debonair hero. But for some reason, when she complimented him he felt butterflies in his stomach. That had never happened before, especially since Ladybug only complimented him sarcastically. But Marinette… she gave him such a warm feeling.

* * *

Marinette talks with Nathanael, distracting him. Although, she had to admit that his scenery was lovely. Maybe, if she didn’t like Adrien so much, she would have actually gone on a date with him. This thought was interrupted when she saw Chat Noir out of the corner of her eye, keeping pace with their boat. She smiles unintentionally, but then scolds herself. What was wrong with her? Not only was she on a mission, she didn’t even like him. She turns back to Nathanael to keep distracting him, still angry at herself for getting sidetracked.

* * *

Chat Noir leans down and kisses Marinette’s hand. Nathanael had been taken down, and after feeding Plagg some cheese, he had decided to give her a visit to make sure she was all right. She had been the subject of the akuma boy’s advances after all.  
“Glad to know you’re safe, princess.”  
“Oh, well, with you looking after me, how could I not be?”  
Chat smirks, standing up straight and putting his other hand over the one he was holding. “Well, if you ever need another knight in shining armor, feel free to call.” He winks, then lets go of her hand and runs off into the night. However, about a block down he turns around to see Marinette looking after him. He turns back, blushing a little under his mask.


	2. Again?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette and Chat Noir's second meeting does not go as well as the first.

Marinette walks down the street illuminated only by the street lamps. She had something to take care of, which had made her late getting home. She wasn’t too concerned. She may not have all the abilities of Ladybug when she wasn’t transformed, but she knew how to handle herself. She keeps an eye out for anyone else on the street, but it’s completely deserted. She still has a ways to go, though, so she stays alert.

So, when Chat Noir lands next to her unexpectedly she swings her purse at him only for the cat to catch it.

“Is that any way to treat your knight, princess?” He smirks, letting her purse drop back to her side.

Marinette stands, unable to say anything for a few seconds before steeling herself in anger. “What the hell? You nearly gave me a heart attack, you stupid cat!”

Chat looks taken aback, raising his eyebrows. “Ah, so the princess isn’t all compliments and flattery I see. You really gave me paws.”

She sighs, exasperated, and starts walking again. After a few seconds Chat rushes to catch up.

“What’s the matter princess? You seem so different from the last time we met.”

“Well, the last time we met, you were trying to save me from someone. Now you’re just scaring me to death.”

“Not true! I’m here to escort you home. After all, what sort of gentleman would I be if I let a lady walk home alone at night?”

Marinette narrows her eyes, sweeping her gaze over him. He grins at her, but he didn’t seem like his intentions were bad…

“All right. But what are you doing out so late, anyway? I haven’t seen any of those possessed people around anywhere, at least not tonight.”

“Ah, I was simply out for a bit of fresh air when I saw a gorgeous young lady alone in such a dangerous city and thought it my duty to see her home safe.”

She scans him again, trying to see if this was genuine flirting or just Chat being Chat. Then again, he always flirted with Ladybug….

“You’re not getting anywhere with me, you know. I’m not interested in strays.”

He lets out a little chuckle, shaking his head. “My my, this damsel really does love to jump to conclusions doesn’t she? I will have you know that my heart belongs to Ladybug, princess.”

She sighs, looking ahead. Well, it was good to know he was faithful, even if she wasn’t interested. “Well, if nothing else it’s nice to know that you’re loyal.”

“Of course. What sort of gentleman would I be if I wasn’t?” He grins at her again and suddenly her stomach breaks out in butterflies. What the hell? He wasn’t that attractive, so why did this keep happening? She looks angrily ahead, quickening her pace. He matches her speed, looking confused.

“Did I say something wrong princess?”

“No,” she spits out, walking faster. She just wanted to go home and forget all this. Stupid cats, why did they have to tail her everywhere she went?

Chat keeps pace, but stays quiet for the rest of the walk home. When they get to the bakery, Marinette pulls out her keys and starts looking for the one for the front door. Chat leans against the wall, watching her until she had gotten the door open.

“Well, princess, now that you’re home safe I’ll take my leave. Au revoir.” He bows, giving her a sly grin once more.

“Adieu,” she snaps, closing the door in his face. She turns her back on it and leans against it, crossing her arms and staring angrily into the bakery. What the hell was with her? It seemed like every time Chat smiled, her brain short circuited. She storms up to her room, trying to keep quiet despite her anger at herself.

* * *

Chat climbs into his window just as the final beeping of his ring signaled the end of his transformation. As Chat Noir turns back into Adrien, he sighs and sits on his bed. Why had Marinette been so cold? The last time she had met Chat Noir, she had been thrilled. Maybe it really had just been because he was saving her. Although… something about this Marinette intrigued him. She might have been more sarcastic, but there was a hint of something more in it.

“I’m hungry,” Plagg whines, tossing himself dramatically onto Adrien’s bed.

Adrien sighs, getting up and rummaging through his school bag and pulling out his stash of cheese for Plagg.

“Your life is so easy, Plagg. All you do is eat cheese all day.”

“No, I eat cheese when you give it to me. That’s pretty hard.” He takes a big bite of cheese, staring at the blond while he chews. “What’s with you? You only ever get this mopey when you’re thinking about Ladybug.”

“I don’t know. Marinette… she seemed different tonight.”

“Oh no, don’t tell me you’re in love with her too.” The cat rolls his eyes, taking another bite of cheese. “You humans, all you do is fall in love.”

“No! I just… I’ve never seen this side of her before.” Adrien was intrigued. Marinette, the one he had only seen from a distance… there was something fascinating about her. It was that same spirit he liked so much in Ladybug. He had never seen it so close before like he had tonight. Before, she had always been a stuttering mess around him.

Plagg knew that look. He had seen it on Adrien before and it had led him right down the path to Ladybug. He finished off his cheese and goes over to dig around in Adrien’s bag for any crumbs. “Well, whatever you do, keep me out of it.”  
____________

The next day at school, Adrien watches the clock carefully, waiting for the bell to signal lunch hour. He knew Marinette went home for lunch, and he wanted to see if he could get her to talk to him like a normal person, like she did with Chat. When class ends, he stands up and turns around to face Marinette.

“Hey Marinette.”

The girl freezes, halfway through packing her bag and stares for a second before responding. “H-hi.”

“Hey, so I was wondering if you and Alya wanted to eat lunch with me and Nino.”

She opens and closes her mouth a few times before finally getting any words out. “I home, my can’t is at lunch- I- I mean my home is at can’t- my lunch is at home! Bye!” She shoves the rest of her stuff into her bag and runs out of the room, eyes wide.

Adrien sighs and Nino looks at him.

“Well, that was a disaster if I ever saw one.”

“I know. I wonder why she can’t talk to me like a normal person.”

Nino raises an eyebrow before shaking his head. “Man, you are so clueless sometimes,” he says before walking out of the room.

Adrien stands, looking a little dejected before realizing that Nino had said something to him. He’d have to figure that out later, but for now he decides to just go eat lunch.

* * *

Marinette closes the door to room and leans against the wall. Her heart is racing and her face is burning. He… he talked to her. Unprompted. And he asked her to eat lunch with him. She took out her phone and called Alya. When her best friend answered, Marinette started talking without even saying hello.

“Adrien asked me to lunch oh my god Alya do you think this means he likes me oh my god oh my god-”

“Wait wait wait! He what? Tell me everything! Give me all the details! What happened?!”

Marinette takes a deep breath, then recounts how Adrien came up to her. She says all of it excitedly, until….

“And, uh… then I… I said ‘I home, my can’t is at lunch’.”

She hears a sigh from the other end of the line. “Oh, Marinette, your mouth does not know how to handle itself around him. Well, we’ll keep working on it, okay? But you should come eat with me! You already made it home, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll come meet you. Where are you?”

“I’m sitting with Nino. Adrien went home for lunch, so we’re eating together.”

“All right, I’ll be there in a minute. See you then.” She hangs up her phone, a little confused. Didn’t Adrien say he was eating lunch with Nino? So why did he go home? She was definitely talking with Alya about this when she got there. She goes downstairs and packs up the lunch her mom made for her, kissing the woman’s cheek on her way back to school.

* * *

Adrien walks into his mansion, going into the dining room. A meal is already set and waiting for him, but when he sits down he barely touches it. What was wrong with him? Why didn’t Marinette talk to him like she talked with everyone else? It couldn’t possibly be shyness. He had seen her say sarcastic things to Chloe all the time, and they definitely weren’t friends. So what about him made her run away all the time?


	3. Assumptions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien jumps to conclusions in his search for Marinette's crush

Adrien had been steadily feeding Plagg an extra supply of cheese ever since his last encounter with Marinette. He had also started going out more often. He reasons with himself that it was just because his father was worse than usual, but secretly the back of his mind wanted him to meet Marinette out late again. Of course, it wasn’t likely for a 15 year old girl to be out alone late at night, especially not twice. However, luckily for him, Marinette had lost track of time talking with Alya and was rushing home. This time he drops a few feet in front of her under full light of the streetlamp, bowing low and grinning up at her.

“Need an escort, princess?”

She stops a few feet away, looking at him. She looks around the street, then sighs. “Alright kitty, you can follow me home. But no shenanigans!”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” He smirks, straightening and waiting for her to take the lead.  
She starts walking again, her pace slower and more calm now that he had joined her. He smiles. So, she trusted him enough to protect her at least.

“Now, what could possibly keep you up this late?”

“Nice try, kitty, but you don’t need to know anything about me.”

“Aw, but where’s the fun in that? Don’t you want to get to know me princess? I can be very charming.” He leans towards her, smiling as seductively as he knew how.

It was hard to tell in the dark, but it looked to him like she had gone pink. She turns away from him and crosses her arms in a huff. “I told you, I am not interested. I have my eye on someone else.”

“Oh really? And who is it that compels you to spurn your poor knight at every turn?”

“That is none of your business, little cat.”

“Well, I could always go through the alphabet until you blush as red as a tomato… perhaps the letter A?”

She blushes deeply, walking faster out of anger. “I told you, it’s none of your business. If you keep this up I’m going to start walking home alone.”

He grins at her, keeping pace. “So, it starts with an A, huh? Well well well, I’ll keep that in mind.”

They arrive at the bakery and she fumbles with the keys, still red. He leans against the doorway, watching her.

“...you’re quite the mysterious one, aren’t you princess?”

She looks at him out of the corner of her eye, the blush fading as she sizes him up. “Well, I should hope so. I’d rather not have every alley cat knowing everything about me.”

“So you don’t trust me, despite how many times I’ve saved you from the dangers of this city?”

She scoffs, looking back at the door and finally finding the right key. “You wish, kitty. I can handle myself just fine.”

He turns so his shoulder is resting against the wall, facing her fully. “That may be so, but don’t think I can’t see you relaxing when you know I’m around.”

“So what? You don’t know what it’s like being a girl. You wouldn’t understand.” She unlocks the door, opening it and stepping into the bakery.

“Ah, you have me there princess. Will I be seeing you again soon?”

“Don’t count on it, kitty. Good night.”

“Good night, princess.”

As she closes the door, he can’t help but notice that there had been a hint of sarcasm when she told him not to count on it. Perhaps she liked Chat Noir more than she let on.

* * *

All day, Marinette couldn’t help thinking about last night. For some reason, every time she met Chat Noir he got more and more… intriguing? What was it about him that made her feel so strange…

Alya snaps her fingers in front of Marinette’s face, pulling her out of her reverie.

“Huh?” Marinette blinks up at the other girl as they walk down the hallway heading toward lunch.

“Jesus Marinette, you’re even more spacey than usual. What is going on with you?”

She blushes slightly, playing with her hair. “Nothing’s going on with me, I’ve just… had a couple long nights.”

Alya scans her up and down, suspicious. “Uh huh. You’re sure it’s not Adrien.”

“No! Of course it’s not!” Chat Noir pops into her mind, and she reddens even more.

“Aha! See, you can’t hide anything from me. Seriously girl, move it or lose it. He’s not gonna wait forever, you know.”

“Yeah, I know…” She glances at Adrien walking a few feet ahead and catches him looking at her. Each of them gasp a little and he turns back around, trying to pretend he wasn’t just looking at her. She looks at Alya, then back to him. “Did you see that?”

Alya nods, grinning from ear to ear. “See? He’s definitely interested. You need to talk to him, asap.”

* * *

Adrien leans against a wall, doing his best not to slide down. Of course. It all made sense now. Why she acted so naturally around girls, why she kept rejecting his advances…

Nino walks up, leaning against the wall beside him and nudging him a little. “Hey man, what’s up?”

“She’s a lesbian.”

Nino furrows his brow. “Dude, who are you talking about?”

“Marinette. She’s… she’s a lesbian.”

The other boy seems to process this for a moment, then starts laughing. Adrien looks at him, confused and a little angry.

“What? What’s so funny?”

“Oh man, you really are clueless. Honestly, sometimes you’re so blind I think you’re gonna walk into a wall.”

“What do you mean? I know she is! She… told a friend of mine that she has a crush on someone who’s name starts with an A and I just saw her blushing with Alya. It’s obvious they’re together, or something!”

This only seems to make Nino laugh harder, which makes Adrien even angrier.

“Fine, be that way. See you later.”

“W-wait up man!” Nino calls after him, but he’s already stormed off by they time he can get it out between laughs.


	4. An Admission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat confesses something to Marinette, leading to a realization on both parts.

Adrien had decided it was time for him to stop waiting for her to make the first move, especially since he was fairly sure she wasn’t going to make a move. So, while Marinette is watering her flowers before she goes to bed, Chat Noir appears, sauntering down her roof into her small little patio garden.

“So, the princess likes to garden I see.” He purrs, delicately lifting some violets with the tip of his claw.

Marinette whirls around, dropping her nearly empty watering can which clatters to the ground with a plastic thump. She backs up, her butt hitting the railing until she sees who it is. Her shoulders relax a little, but then tense again in anger.

“What the hell Chat? You nearly scared me to death!”

“That seems to be a theme with us.” He strolls over to her, moving side to side with each step and scooping up the watering can on his way over. He slows down as he nears her, stopping mere inches from where she stood. His breath quickens, and he sees hers do the same. He looks down at her, simply staring down at her for a moment as their eyes linger over each others. He gently takes her hand in his own, lifting it to chest height….

He places the handle of the watering can in it. “Seems you dropped something.”

Marinette seems to jolt back to herself, and she scowls at him, walking away to water more flowers. He leans against the railing exactly where she had stood a moment before.

“You know, if I’m not your type you should have just told me.”

Marinette looked at him out of the corner of her eye, seeming a bit puzzled before turning back to her flowers. “What do you mean?”

“A little birdie told me that men aren’t on your radar.”

“Oh really? Well then, you’ll have to tell that bird it’s a liar.”

“Is that so? Well, tell that to your girlfriend.”

She gives him a puzzled look, setting down her watering can and leaning against the railing again while crossing her arms.

“The one with the dyed hair who’s obsessed with Ladybug?”

Finally it seems to click, and Marinette barely tries to hold back her laughter before it bursts. “Wait wait wait, Alya? You think Alya’s my girlfriend?”

He fights down an embarrassed blush, standing up straight defensively. “Well, you said you liked someone whose name starts with A. It makes sense.”

“I said no such thing. You just assumed. And you know what they say about assuming…”  
Adrien feels indignant for a second, and opens his mouth to say goodbye until he realizes that what he thought wasn’t true. A smirk creeps back across his face as he leans back against the railing once more.

“So… that means I’ve still got a chance, huh?”

She laughs again, although this time he’s sure he sees her cheeks go red. “Sure kitty, if that’s what you want to think.”

“Well, princess, I suppose this puts me in competition with your friend. Let them know they’ve got to compete with Chat Noir.”

“I’ll be sure to tell him that.”

“Well then princess, until next time.” He bows low, then leaps over the railing and drops out of sight.

* * *

Marinette stares at her ceiling, unable to sleep. Not only was Chat in love with Ladybug, it seemed he was in love with Marinette too. What was it about her that he liked so much? It was a mystery. Although… he was pretty suave when he wanted to be. He wasn’t as good as he thought he was, but he was still all right. And he had such gorgeous green eyes…

What was she thinking? She liked Adrien! Chat may be good at sweet talk, but he wasn’t Adrien. He wasn’t the kind, caring, intelligent…

All these traits made her mind flash back to Chat.

Oh god, she was falling for him. That ridiculous cat was actually getting to her. But it just wouldn’t work. She couldn’t see him for more than a little at a time, not when his power would run out. This was a nightmare.

She groans, putting her hands to her face. She would call Alya, but it was long past midnight and they had school tomorrow. She’d just have to talk to her then.

* * *

Adrien paces in his room, Plagg asleep on his pillow. Should he have done that? Would Marinette hate him now? He made it clear he liked her, would she even be interested in him? What was it about her that drove him so crazy?

He stops suddenly, realizing something. She may like Chat Noir, but what if she found out he was Adrien? What then? She seemed unable to even look at him. Would she still be interested? What was he supposed to do? Just hide a part of himself? Was that fair to her? Was that fair to him?

He begins pacing again, contemplating this. If he told her, she could understand… or she could hate him. And he wasn’t sure he wanted to take that chance. Especially since all that had happened so far was that he confessed. No, it seemed that, until he was certain, Marinette couldn’t know who he was.


	5. First Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat visits Marinette for the second night in a row and they get to know each other a little better.

Marinette pushes open the trapdoor leading to the roof and emerges only to see Chat Noir leaning against the railing. This was his second visit in a row, and she actually felt a little flattered. Tikki would never put up with this much useless transforming.

“Well well well, it seems the stray has come looking for more scraps, hmmm?”

“Only from princesses far too kind to strays for their own good.”

“Yes well, everyone has their flaws, no?” She begins her rounds, watering the plants one by one and making sure they aren't in the shadow of the roof so they get plenty of sunlight. Chat sits and watches her with sharp eyes.

“I suppose, although I wouldn't call kindness a flaw.”

“Oh? And what would the stray know about flaws, hmm? You seem pretty flawless to me.”

He feigns shock, clutching a hand to his chest and dropping his jaw. “Why, princess, was that a compliment? Careful, more slip ups like that and I’ll think you’re falling for me.”

“Really? Well, how can you even say that? What do you know about me that makes you able to tell who I’m falling for?”

“Let’s see… I know you have gorgeous blue eyes and silky raven hair, and that your parents run a bakery, and that your girlfriend’s name is Alya…”

She giggles a little at that last one, finally finishing her watering and setting down the can. She leans against the railing facing him and smiles at his sly smirk.

“I also know how to make you laugh and smile.”

“Well, Mr. Detective, you know all this about me, but I know nothing about you. What sort of man is the famous Chat Noir?” She teases him, but notices a slight slip of his smile at the word “famous”.

“Ah, trying to find out my secret identity so soon? Come princess, it’s only the first date. We should keep some of the mystery alive.”

“Oh, please. I don’t need to know your name. I just want to get to know the person I’m supposedly falling in love with. Like you said, it’s the first date. Let’s get to know each other.”

“Oh, well, if I had known I would have taken you somewhere nicer. But... c’est la vie. I suppose the first thing you’ll want to know is if this is my natural hair color, hmm?”

She rolls her eyes. He seemed to have a talent for getting off topic. “Please, kitty. I’m not so shallow as all that. What are your interests? What do you like to do?”

He drags his eyes over her, a contemplative look on his face. After a moment of this he nods. “All right. I’m a fencer, if you must know.”

“Are you any good?”

“Well, I can’t beat my instructor if that’s what you’re asking, but otherwise I consider myself fairly skilled.”

“All right. The knight can handle a sword. What do you like to do for fun?”

“Hmm… well I quite enjoy talking to beautiful girls.”

She rolls her eyes at this. “Always with the flirting, I see.”

“Sorry princess, I just can’t help myself. I suppose you just bring that out in me.”

She sighs, turning around to look out over the skyline rather than at him. She waves a hand at him dismissively. “If you can’t be serious, you can scurry on home.”

“Aw, don’t be like that.” She hears his footsteps coming up behind her until he appears to her right. He looks at her face, looking a little worried. “I only flirt because it makes you say funny things.”

She holds back a smile, but the corners of her lips still turn up slightly and she sees him relax a little. “Like what?”

“Hmmm, like… ‘I’m not interested in strays’ perhaps?”

She thinks back to their first real meeting and she can’t help but smile. “Well, that still stands, but you’re almost domesticated now.”

“Does that mean you’re interested, princess?” He leans in a little, still a safe distance away. She does notice his eyes dart down to her lips, though.

“We’ll see.” She smiles at him and thinks back to their kiss… he still didn’t remember, but she had been thinking about it a lot since he had started visiting her. It wasn’t much, since at the time he was, y’know, trying to kill her, but she had realized that he wore strawberry chapstick. Sometimes she still thought of the taste…

After a few seconds she realizes that she’s been staring at his lips this whole time and turns red, looking back over the skyline. Somewhere nearby music was playing.

And just like that, his ring beeps. She manages to keep from looking sad, not only because that would give him the satisfaction of knowing she liked having him around but also because she wasn’t supposed to know what that meant. She looks at him, feigning confusion.

“What’s that noise.”

“It means, dear princess, that our time is up. I’m afraid I will have to bid you adieu.” He takes her hand and leans down, kissing it before straightening and leaping onto the railing.

“Au revoir.”

He looks back at her and gives her a smile before disappearing into the night once more.

* * *

“I’m sorry Plagg. I had to see her again.”

“Then why not just go as Adrien?” Plagg lays on Adrien’s pillow, curled up and looking ready to sleep for a hundred years. The blond sits next to him, rummaging through his bag to look for some cheese.

“Because Marinette doesn’t talk to me when I’m Adrien. She only talks to me when I’m Chat.”

“I don’t get it. She likes you right? What’s the difference.”

“She likes Chat. She barely seems to be able to function when she’s alone with Adrien.”

“Well, either way we’re not seeing her again.”

“Ahah! Found it!” He pulls out a chunk of camembert from his bag, giving it to Plagg. The little cat scarfs it down, swallowing it practically whole.

“Well, not for a few days at least.”

“That’s… fair.” Adrien sighs. He had been thinking about her so much… and it didn’t help that she sat behind him in class all day. He kept stealing glances at her, and she always seemed to be drifting off. He half hoped that she was thinking about Chat, but he wasn’t sure. She did seem to blush after thinking for a while on the roof there… maybe it was that other person she liked. He couldn’t help thinking of who it could possibly be. Besides Alya, he couldn’t think of anyone else he knew who’s name started with A that she could be interested in. He’d have to ask her about it more… when he got the chance. For now, he just had to go to sleep.


	6. The Second Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien asks Marinette on a date, only for it to end when an akuma attacks. When he returns as Chat, he has a second date with her.

Adrien adjusts his shirt for the fifth time, checking in the bathroom mirror to see how it looks. He had decided to ask Marinette to go out with him for lunch, along with Alya and Nino. He didn’t want it to seem like a date, just in case she really did hate him. He had already told Nino about going out to lunch, and he seemed surprisingly pleased when he had mentioned bringing Alya and Marinette along. He wondered if Nino maybe had a crush on Alya… they did seem to hang out a lot.

Suddenly the doorbell rings and he rushes down the steps to open the door. He finds Nino standing outside, hands shoved into his pockets.

“Hey.”

“Hey. You ready to go? Alya and Marinette are waiting outside.”

“Yeah, yeah. I just… do I look all right?”

Nino eyes him up and down and nods, looking a little confused. “Yeah man, ‘course you do. In fact you seem a little… dressed up. Something you wanna tell me?”

Adrien fidgets. Nino couldn’t find out that he was Chat Noir… that would lead to all sorts of questions and things. But he really wanted to tell his best friend about Marinette.

“No, let’s go. We can’t keep the ladies waiting.” He walks past Nino who takes a few seconds before catching up.

“Are you sure dude? You’re acting kinda weird.”

“Nope. Just normal Adrien.” He pushes open the gate and sees Alya and Marinette standing there. It seemed he wasn’t the only one that was nervous. The two girls were huddled together, whispering, until he walks out. Both of them straighten and Alya shoves her friend forward with her shoulder. Marinette stumbles, giving her best friend a nervous look before turning back to Adrien and smiling. She was dressed up too, wearing a cute polka dot dress rather than her normal jeans and t-shirt, but otherwise she seemed pretty much the same.

“H-hi Adrien! Hey Nino! You guys ready?” Marinette fumbles, her obvious nervousness making her smile wider.

“Yeah. The restaurant’s not far from here, so I hope you don’t mind a bit of a walk.” Adrien, a bit nervous himself, smiles at her. He notices her cheeks turning a little red before she responds.

“Not at all! Lead the way.” She gestures for him to go first and as he starts walking she keeps pace with him, her eyes carefully focused forward. Adrien glances back, noticing Nino and Alya purposefully lagging behind and whispering to each other. When they see him Alya smiles knowingly at him, which he found strange. Did she know about him and Marinette… and if so how? He glances to his side where Marinette was walking stiffly beside him.

“So, you seem dressed up. What’s the occasion?”

She jumps, laughing a little and glancing away. “I uh… w-well y’know I just um… thought it w-would be nice to dress up for lunch.” She brings a hand up to play with one of her pigtails and he sees her go pink again.

“Well, you look nice. That’s a pretty dress.”

“Th-thanks.” Her voice comes out as a squeak, and her shoulders squeeze up. She was clearly very flustered, and she would not look at him. He turns around to try and ask Alya if she was okay, but all he sees when he looks back at the two of them is Alya stifling a giggle and Nino smiling at him. His best friend gives him a thumbs up which only confuses him. What was happening?

* * *

Alya smiles at Nino across the table. Marinette and Adrien had both gone to the bathroom before they left.

“This is going amazingly!”

“I know. I still don’t think Adrien knows, though.”

“What do you mean? How could he not? He asked Marinette out on a date!”

“Yeah, well, last time he said something about her he thought she was a lesbian.”

Alya blinks at him. “...what?”

“Yeah. He thought you two were dating. He obviously likes her, but he’s seriously clueless.”

“Well at least he’s finally making a move. Marinette is way too mortified to ever ask him out. She’s still not sure he likes her.”

“Somehow we’ve picked the two most clueless people to be friends with.”

“Well it’ll all be worth it when they finally get together.”

A crash resounds outside, causing the restaurant to shake. People run screaming past as things in the street get flung around. A car comes crashing into the front of the restaurant, luckily missing all the people. All the restaurant patrons begin to panic, running for the exits. Nino and Alya both get up and run towards the bathroom only to run into Ladybug and Chat Noir.

* * *

“Chat! The bag!”

He nods, dodging another attack and hooking the strap of the akuma’s bag with his pole. He flings it towards her, sweeping the legs out from under their opponent.

Ladybug catches the bag, holding it with two hands and tearing it apart. The pieces fall to the ground and a black butterfly emerges. She swipes her yoyo and purifies it, watches as the little white butterfly flies away. She tosses her lucky charm in the air, watching as it repairs the damage done.

Her earring beeps at her as Chat saunters over to her, smirking.

“You did amazingly as always, my lady, but it seems our time is almost up. How about a goodbye kiss?”

She rolls her eyes, as usual, but this time she can’t help but smile a little. He notices and smiles wider.

“Ah, are my charms finally getting to you?”

“Only in your dreams. You just reminded me of someone else. But I’d better get going.”

“Of course. Au revoir.” Chat bows low to her, and she uses her yoyo to get to the top of the restaurant where she was having lunch with Adrien. She makes sure she’s out of sight before opening the roof door and going inside, transforming back and running downstairs to get back inside the bathroom before anyone noticed she was gone.

As she comes down the stairs she sees Chat Noir enter the restaurant through the front door. She just saw him, but he doesn’t know that so she hesitates only a second before calling out, “Chat?”

He looks up, clearly surprised. It seems he didn’t think anyone else would be here… just like her. She glances at his ring and notices that he still has some time left before he absolutely has to leave. “Princess. What are you doing here?”

“Oh… I heard the crash outside and ran upstairs to get out of the way. What are you doing?”

“I came in here to see if everyone was all right, but it seems like no one’s here. Well, excepting you of course.”

“This is the first time we’ve met during the day. Well, besides that whole Nathanael thing, but that doesn’t really count.”

“I suppose it is. I must say, you look just as beautiful in the sunlight.”

“More flirting? Don’t you have an off switch?” She actually walks all the way down the stairs and sits at one of the tables. She smooths out her dress then rests her elbows on the table, intertwining her fingers.

“I’m afraid not, but you don’t seem like you’d find that off-putting.” He saunters over, taking the seat across from her and leaning back in his chair.

“You’re quite the flirt, it’s true. In fact, I noticed you hitting on Ladybug out there after the fight.” She brings this up mostly to see how he’d react. Did he feel guilty, being in love with Ladybug and coming to see her all the time?

“Ah, you’ve found my weakness. I hope you do not think of me as less of a gentleman for flirting with the both of you, but while Ladybug seems only to scorn me you…. well, you actually seem quite interested.” He smiles at her. This wasn’t his usual snarky smile, but more of a warm and sweet smile. She does her best not to blush.

“Well, I’m glad you think so highly of me. I’ll admit, I’ve had my mind on someone else today, too. It seems we’ve both got our distractions.” She notices a flash of confusion on his face at the mention of Adrien before he leans forward and pulls out his sly smile again.

“So, princess, you never told me who this prince was. All you’ve mentioned so far is that his name starts with A.”

“I never said any such thing. You just keep on assuming. Plus, I’m not sure I should tell you. Even you’d have difficulty competing with him.”

“Oh really? He must be quite something.”

She smiles, just thinking about him. Today he’d been so… sweet, and it really seemed like he’d liked her. And she hadn’t even fumbled once! “Yeah, he’s… well, he actually seems to notice me now. I think he even took me on a date… not a date-date, mind you, but he really seemed to wanna get to know me. He’s just so kind and sweet and amazing…”

“Careful princess. Any more and I might get jealous.” He looks at her and… was that a hint of sadness in his expression?

“Well… what is it about Ladybug you like so much? She’s pretty cool with her heroics, but that’s not exactly a great basis for a relationship.”

“Oh, it’s not just her heroics. She’s very impressive, definitely, but it’s also the fact that she’s so intelligent and caring and… well, just as sarcastic with me as you are. Plus, she seems to be more interested. I’ve noticed her smiling more when I flirt with her. It’s enough to encourage anyone.”

Marinette is honestly a little shocked. Honestly, she had mostly thought he liked Ladybug for her looks, more than anything but… he really liked her as a person. Just like he liked Marinette. After a moment she realizes she had let the silence stretch on too long.

“Wow… you really like her huh?”

He finally looks at her again and seems to misinterpret her shocked expression. “Well now, princess, it seems we’ve both made the other jealous.”

She smiles at him, then stands. “It seems so. Well, this has been a lovely second date, but my friends must be worried about me right now. I’ve got to go find them. Will I see you soon?”

“Absolutely. Au revoir.”

“Au revoir.” She walks towards the door, barely glancing back to see Chat going up the stairs.


	7. A Helping Hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette mistimes her transformation, causing an ankle injury when Chat finds her. Before she can argue, he picks her up and suddenly they're closer than ever before.

Ladybug closes her yoyo, tucking it back inside her bag after purifying another akuma. It seemed like these things were getting more and more inconvenient. Her earring beeped at her again, on it’s last spot.

“Nice work again, Chat.”

“Did you expect anything less?”

“Of course not, but I need to be going. See you next time.” She pulls out her yoyo again, hooking it on a lamp post and slingshotting herself over a building into the next street. She gets ready to land when, suddenly, her transformation runs out mid-air. Luckily, she’s close enough to the ground to land, but not without twisting her ankle on the way down. She collapses onto the ground and lets out a yelp. She sits back, gently touching her injured ankle when she hears footsteps approaching.

“Is somebody hurt?” Chat calls out as he runs out of an alleyway into the street. When he sees Marinette sitting on the ground he rushes over and kneels down next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Are you all right? I heard you yell.”

“I’m fine, just a twisted ankle. Nothing to worry about.” She puts her other foot down next to the injured one and starts to push herself up when she feels a pressure on her shoulder pushing her back down.

“No, you shouldn’t walk on it. What if it’s broken?”

She laughs a little at that. “C’mon, Chat, I think I’d know if I broke my ankle.” She looks at him and her smile falters as she sees the concern on his face. He was really worried about her. “...But I guess if you’re that worried you could help me get home.”

He seems to relax a little and nods. She starts to get up again when she feels his hand move down to her back while the other slips under her knees. Before she knows it, he’s carrying her bridal style down the street. She feels her face flush as she leans against him so as not to roll out of his arms.

“Y-you didn’t have to do that…”

“If it’s really broken, you shouldn’t put pressure on it.”

“It’s fine, really. I can walk.”

He doesn’t respond, continuing to head towards her family’s bakery. They continue in silence for a while, Marinette still red as can be. Luckily, after that whole akuma fiasco everyone seems to be inside. She then realizes that it would look strange to her parents if Chat Noir carried their daughter in through the front door.

“You should probably go up the fire escape to the roof. I can’t exactly have Chat Noir carry me into my own house.”

“You’re right. This is definitely not how I should meet your parents. Especially since it’s a little early for that.”

She laughs a little. “Yeah. C’mon, Chat, it’s only our third date.”

He smiles, still looking tense. When they get to the bakery he goes around to the side of the building where the fire escape is. “Put your arms around my neck and hold on tight.”

She complies, her face still a little red. This was just getting more embarrassing by the minute. He waits until she has a firm grip around his neck, then, still holding her, he crouches down and leaps suddenly, landing nimbly on the bottom level of the fire escape. The structure clangs and shakes ever so slightly from the force of the landing. He then begins to climb the stairs, tilting her in his arms so she doesn’t hit her head. 

He looks ahead and Marinette takes the distraction to really look at him. She rarely saw Chat like this… even when he was in danger, he was always joking. This worried Chat… the only time that really stood out to her of him like this was when he vanished from time. When he was protecting her.

He glances down at her and gives her a tense smile as he looks ahead again. “I know I’m handsome, but all this attention is going to make me blush.

She feels her face redden again and she looks ahead. They had almost made it to the roof. “Oh please. Don’t flatter yourself. I’m much prettier than you.”

He laughs, actually loosening up a little at that. “Well, on that we’ll have to agree princess.” He reaches the top, carefully stepping up onto the railing with her and gently dropping down into the little garden. He slowly lowers her to the ground, making sure she only stands on her good foot. She makes sure too, not realizing that she still had her arms around his neck. She looks up, only to suddenly realize how close they were. How she was leaning against him and, despite the fact that he had put her down, one hand was still on her back. He looks down into her eyes and they both stare for what feels like an eternity. Her hand is so close to the back of his head. It wouldn’t take much. A little stretch up on her part, a little bit of a lean on his… He wouldn’t even have to do anything. She could tilt him down…

He leans forward a little, causing her to tilt back into his hand. It was happening and she had no idea what to do…

He props her up on the railing, removing his hand. She suddenly pulls back, bringing her hands down to hang on to the railing. She breathes hard, and sees that his breath is coming out quicker too. Had he been thinking the same thing?

He kneels down, gently taking her injured leg in his hand. She shivers, hoping he doesn’t notice. He tenderly prods her ankle, making her wince a little in certain spots. After a while he seems satisfied and he stands up.

“Well princess, it seems you were right. It really was just a sprain.”

“Oh, I see. So all that embarrassment was for nothing.”

“Or maybe I just wanted to carry you. It’s very romantic you know.” He smirks, his ring beeping at him.

“Well, it seems you’ve got to go anyway. You can save your romance for later.”

He smiles at her but… he also seems sad to go. “Au revoir, princess.”

“Au revoir, little stray.”

He climbs over the railing, disappearing into the city. She stands there for a moment, trying to regain her senses. Chat had sent her reeling… this had never happened before. She had no idea what to think.

* * *

Adrien lays on his bed, staring at the ceiling. What if he had kissed her? Would she have liked it? It seemed like she was thinking the same thing he was, but what if he was just projecting it onto her. He had admitted his feelings, but she hadn’t said a thing. What if this was her and Adrien all over again? What if she really was annoyed by him and it wasn’t just flirting? What was he thinking? Should he see her again? He wanted to. He ached to. But he wasn’t sure it was such a good idea anymore…

He would, at least once more. Just to get closure if she didn’t like him. And if she did… well, he would cross that bridge when he came to it.


	8. Models

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat visits Marinette to finally figure out how she feels about him.

It had been a few days since he had seen her. At least, as Chat Noir. He had been spending more and more time with her as Adrien, finding as many excuses as possible. She actually seemed to be able to talk to him now, but it wasn’t the witty banter of Marinette and Chat. It was polite, as though she was afraid of scaring him off. She had no idea how he wished she would be snarky to him.

She accidentally stumbled into him at one point, and the idea of kissing her flashed in his mind. Of course, that would have been insane. She may be friends with Adrien, but she was clearly not as interested in him as in Chat.

He creeps silently over her railing, only to find her waiting for him this time. She sits on the roof, sketching something. When she sees him, she smiles and waves for him to sit down next to her.

“Well princess, this is an unexpected surprise.” He saunters over and sits down across from her, crossing his legs.

“You’ve been surprising me quite a bit lately, so I thought I might surprise you. I’ve been working on something.”

“Is it a stylish new bandage for your ankle?” He jokes, but she gives him a look that makes him think she knows just how worried he gets about her.

“No, it’s for you. You may not realize this, but I want to be a designer, so I sketched out something…” She frowns at her notepad, taking the eraser and wiping something out before methodically tracing out something.

“How fascinating. I suppose it’s a stylish new crime fighting outfit?”

“Not exactly… I thought, well… maybe the stray would look good if he cleaned up a little.” She smirks at him, turning the notebook around. It was a drawing of him… wearing a beautifully embroidered suit. He had on a masquerade mask of a matching design. Everything was white, from his ears to his shoes, with gold accents on the sleeves and collar.

“Incredible… May I see?” He held out his hand, hoping to take a closer look.

She hesitates, then nods, passing him the book. He holds it reverently, tracing a finger over the embroidery. He notices a particular curve on the left hand collar and turns it upside down to find her name written in cursive inside the pattern. He turns it back around, hungrily drinking in every detail.

“This is the most beautiful suit I’ve ever seen… How did you come up with this idea?” He looks at her, still awestruck and notices her struggling not to blush.

“Well… your outfit sort of reminded me of a masquerade so I made a mask and… well, the rest just followed.”

“Is there a matching one?” He asks suddenly, the words spilling out before he realizes what he asked.

“What?” She asks, looking a little caught off guard.

“Is there a dress to go with it?” He seems just as surprised at his own words as she does, although he can sense a hint of guiltiness in her expression.

“...It’s…on the next page.”

He turns the page, finding a generic feminine shape in a white ballgown. The bodice is overlaid with gold lace while the skirt is white except for the hemline, while the white kid gloves are completely free of any golden accents. The mask is a perfect mirror of his, so that the explosion of golden flowers coming off of it would be on the same side if they were facing each other. He again finds her name hidden in the embroidery and looks up at her. She looks to the side and seems embarrassed…

“Why didn’t you draw yourself?”

She looks up at him, confused. “What do you mean.”

“I mean… you drew me in the suit. Why didn’t you draw yourself in the gown?”

“Because it’s… it’s not like we would… it’s not like you would want to go… or that we even could go out dancing, let alone to a masquerade. Plus, I just think you make a good model.”

He takes in a sharp breath and he sees her look at him confused. He let’s out a laugh to try and cover it, handing the notebook back to her. “Was that a compliment princess? Do you think I should go into modeling?”

“In your dreams. It’s for this and this only, alley cat.” She smiles, closing the notebook carefully and setting it to the side.

“Oh come now, don’t you want your boyfriend to be a model? Everyone wants a model for a boyfriend.” He smirks at her, but notices that she eyes him for a second before smiling. He wonders what she was thinking about.

“You don’t know the half of it.”

“Well, at least I know that you could be a model. You’d be stunning.”

She goes red and lifts her hands up defensively, starting to babble. “Oh no, I could never. I mean… thank you, but I’m more behind the scenes. I couldn’t just… it’s too out there and I wouldn’t be very good…”

He laughs, , making her blush disappear momentarily out of confusion. “Princess, you could do anything if you really wanted to. Don’t underestimate yourself.”

“You… you really think I could be a model?” She sounds surprised and he looks at her seriously, any hint of joking gone from his voice.

“Marinette,” he says, seeing her shiver, “I honestly think you could if that’s what you wanted to do.”

“...That’s… the first time you’ve called me by my name.”

“Is it? Well… I’ll have to do it more often, if it makes you shiver like that.” He smiles, but it slowly fades away as he remembers what he came here for.

She notices his smile fade away and frowns. “What’s wrong?”

“...Marinette… what do you think of me?”

“Well, this is unexpected.”

“I know I’ve been visiting you a lot lately but… if you want me to stop, I’d like to know now. I don’t want to waste either of our times.”

“Chat… of course not. I… it’s nice, having you around. I like talking to you.” She reaches out, putting her hand on his. He feels his heartbeat speed up as he looks her in the eyes. He wants to kiss her. Every fiber of his being is screaming ‘just do it!’, but he can’t. Not until he knows.

“Marinette.. how do you feel about me?”

They stare into each other’s eyes for a long while. Her breath is as fast as his and she squeezes his hand before responding.

“I-”

A beep. Both of them glance down at Chat’s ring, which has been slowly running down as they talked. Neither of them had noticed before now, but it was almost up.

“You… you should go.”

“I don’t-”

“No, Chat. It’s… it’s not worth it. Au revoir.” She leans forward and he feels his heart stop. She comes closer and closer until… she kisses him on the cheek.

“...Au revoir, princess.” He stands up, holding on to her hand as long as possible before going to the edge of the roof and dropping out of sight.


	9. The Other One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Feelings come to light, although perhaps not in the best way for anyone.

Adrien takes a deep breath, checking his hair in the mirror again. He was going to do it. He was going to ask Marinette out. As Adrien. He knew that, no matter what he did as Chat, his time with her was always going to be limited. He wasn’t sure he could handle that. He wanted to spend as much time with her as possible, and being Chat just didn’t allow that. He checks his hair one more time before taking in a deep breath and leaving the bathroom.

He marches up the steps to his first class. Marinette was already in her seat, joking with Alya about something or other. When Nino sees him, he gives Adrien a look as if to ask what was up. The blond marches straight up to Marinette’s desk.

When she notices the shadow over her, she turns and stares, a little wide eyed. He worries that she’s… afraid or something. Maybe she’s thinking he’s being annoying… no, he couldn’t let that get in the way of what he had to say. He clears his throat, clenching his fists so tight that he can feel his fingernails digging into his palm.

“Marinette, I was wondering… if you wanted to go see a movie with me this Friday.”

Time seems to stop. Adrien realizes that every eye in the room was focused on him standing there. His hands shake, and he hopes that Marinette doesn’t notice. She continues to stare at him. He imagines her saying no, laughing, making a disgusted face, turning and just completely ignoring him….

On and on the possibilities roll around in his head until a voice breaks the silence.

* * *

Marinette stares at Adrien.

He… he just asked her to go to the movies. Like… a date. Adrien was asking her out on a date. Her mind reels as she suddenly realizes… he had been looking at her a lot more lately. Every time she daydreamed he was glancing at her. He had a crush. On her. She opens her mouth, not sure what to say.

“WHAT????” Chloe shrieks as she stands up so suddenly that her chair falls over. “You want to go out with her? What does she have that I don’t?” Chloe glares at Adrien, looking for all the world like she wanted to burn him on the spot.

Adrien turns to her, calmly folding his arms. He had been surprisingly tranquil and patient the entire time. “Frankly, Chloe, she’s a much nicer person than you are. She doesn’t do things out of spite.”

Chloe gapes like a fish, then storms out in a huff, followed quickly by Sabrina carrying all of her things out for her.

* * *

“So? What do you say?”

He turns back to Marinette, who has been watching this whole thing with her mouth hanging open. She blinks, as if suddenly coming back to herself. Her words seem to rush out as she looks back at him.

“Yes, yes, absolutely I’d love to.”

His face breaks into a smile and he nods. “Great. I’ll see you at seven. I hope you like superheroes.”

She nods vigorously and he turns around, going back to his seat. Nino immediately slides over to him, shaking his shoulder.

“Dude! You finally did it. I was wondering when you’d get around to it.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“Man, it’s been so obvious that she’s into you. Plus, I kinda figured you liked her too after that whole lunch date. I’m glad you finally asked her out.”

Adrien is speechless. Wait… she liked him? That’s why she was always stuttering around him? He looks back and sees Marinette and Alya having a similar conversation. When they catch his eye, Marinette blushes and they both smile and wave. He turns back around. That… explained a lot. Man, he was an idiot.

* * *

“Does my hair look okay?”

“It looks fine, seriously. I know you’re nervous, but he likes you. Why would looking different change that?”

Alya sits on Marinette’s bed, watching the other girl as she gets ready. Marinette had been flipping out about this all week, texting her every five minutes to ask advice. Nothing would calm her down.

“I just… wanna look nice for him. He deserves my best.”

“Marinette, you’re always your best. You don’t have to do all this stuff just to be your best, as you call it.”

Alya stands up and walks over to where Marinette was fussing with her hair in the mirror. She gently squeezed the other girl’s shoulders.

“I mean, just look at you! You look hot. You’re gonna blow him out of the water. Seriously Marinette, you have to stop worrying.”

“Really? Are you sure? It’s just… I’ve never been on a date before...” Marinette’s voice trails off. Alya squints. Her best friend had been hiding something lately, and she had no idea what. It was clearly some kind of boy trouble, but it hadn’t gone away when Adrien asked her out.

“Of course. Now hurry up, he’s probably outside by now.”

“What?! Why didn’t you tell me!” Marinette runs downstairs, leaving Alya to chuckle as she nearly leaves her phone behind.

* * *

“Excellent work, my lady,” Chat purrs, smiling at her after she had purified yet another akuma.

“Well, I couldn’t have done it without you Chat.”

“You flatter me. But purrhaps we could do something else later?”

She rolls her eyes at him, smiling. “Like what?”

“Dinner?”

“We can’t date. Our miraculous would run out long before then.” She can’t help but hear a hint of her own sadness at that creep in. He clearly notices too, and steps closer.

“Then maybe as alter egos?”

“No, Chat. I’ve told you. I don’t want anyone to know. I’ll see you around.” She turns to go. She was dating Adrien now, anyway. It’s not like she could hurt him like that. Even if she did like Chat.

“What? Not even a goodbye kiss?” He calls after, clearly joking. She pauses, the thought actually flashing in her mind for a second. Well… why not? It’s not like Adrien would ever know. He didn’t know she was Ladybug. It would just be between the two of them. She turns back to him.

“All right.” His eyes widen, clearly surprised. She walks over and sees him turn his cheek toward her, smiling. She takes his face in her hands, turning it towards her own and kisses him full on the lips.

She feels his face heat up in her hands, but he soon gets over his surprise as he wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her in closer.

They stand there, locked in an embrace for what feels like a glorious lifetime. She makes sure to keep it tame, although she can’t help but open her mouth to his. After what she feels is a reasonable amount of time she pulls away, moving her hands to his shoulders. She looks into his eyes and realizes just how long she had been waiting to do that. They look at each other for a while, each breathless until she finally realizes she had to go. She backs up, pulling out of his reach.

“Au revoir.” The seemingly normal phrase slips, and a look of shock comes onto Chat’s face. He then seems to realize that she couldn’t possibly know about his little joke with Marinette and that ‘au revoir’ was not at all a special phrase and snaps out of his reverie.

“Au revoir, pr- my lady.” She hesitates for a moment before turning around and running off to disappear.


	10. Adieu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Marinette and Chat finally get somewhere they also admit that they haven't been faithful.

He had to tell her. It wouldn’t be fair not to.

Chat made his way slowly across the city, half wanting to see Marinette again and half wanting not to. He pauses across the street. He sees her, watering her flowers and humming to herself. She was so happy… he didn’t want to ruin that.

He goes to turn around when she spots him. She beams, waving him over. Well, it was too late now… He leaps onto a lamp post, balancing across it before leaping to another and then onto her roof.

“You’re in a good mood, princess.”

“You have no idea! The most amazing thing happened!” She steps towards him grabbing his hands and swinging him around. He steps with her, following her lead and smiling a little as the spun. She laughs, her eyes closed until she gets too dizzy and has to open them. She looks at his face and her smile falters. She slows to a stop, still holding his hands while searching his face. “What’s wrong?”

“It can wait. Now, tell me what’s made you so happy.” He does his best to hide his guilt and sadness, moving one hand down onto her hip, intertwining his fingers with hers in the other. She realizes what he’s doing and moves her free hand up to his shoulder.

She studies his face seriously for a moment, following his lead as he waltzed around her roof. “Chat, whatever’s made you upset is important. Don’t ignore it for my sake.”

He smiles at that. How could he have ever tried to be with anyone else? “You’re too kind. I don’t deserve it.”

Her face breaks into something so sad, he can’t bear to look at it. He did that. He made her sad. He never wanted to do that. He stops dancing, pulling his hand out of hers and backing away before turning around. He walks over and leans on the railing, facing the city.

“Chat…” He hears her footsteps behind him and feels a tentative touch on his shoulder. He looks to the side and sees her standing beside him, that look of concern and sadness still on her face.

He turns towards her, making her take her hand back. He gently pulls her hands together and holds them between his own.

“Marinette, I’m so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you.”

She shakes her head, taking a step closer. She pulls one hand from his light grip, using it to tenderly brush a lock of hair behind his ear. “You never did.” He feels her hand move to the back of his head and, before he knows it, she pulls him down into a kiss.

* * *

She feels him tense, and she worries that she crossed a line. She pulls back, making their lips part. He stares at her, wide eyed.

“I-I’m sorry, I wasn’t…”

Before she can finish her thought he lets go of her hands, putting his own on her waist. He pulls her in close and kisses her back.

She wraps her arms around his neck, melting into the kiss. If her kiss with him yesterday was tentative, this was not. It was urgent, each of them trying to drink in the other. She held him tight against her, trying to keep him from disappearing and he did the same. They held their embrace for as long as they could, as if they couldn’t survive outside of it, until she felt the need to breath and pulled back.

She looked into his eyes, green with the tint of his mask… and she thought of another pair of green eyes. Another blond boy who she wanted so desperately to be with. She pulls back, letting go of Chat. He releases her, looking worried.

“Marinette? Are you all right?”

“I… Chat, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have…” Adrien. What had she done?

“Marinette I… I can’t do this.”

She looks up at him, surprised to hear the words come from his mouth rather than her own. “What?”

“I never meant… I should have just told you when I came here.”

“Tell me what?” Her heart skips a beat. What did he mean?

“Marinette I… I kissed someone else. It’s… I can’t be with you. Not while I’m in love with someone else. I can’t… I can’t bear to hurt you like that.” He looks at her. She sees how heartbroken he is, and her own heart sinks as she realizes that… she did the same to him.

“It’s… I’m sorry too. I… I have a boyfriend now. I can’t… You’re right. This… this isn’t going to work.”

He looks at her for a moment, then nods. “Adieu, princess.”

“Adieu.”

He goes over to the railing, looking back at her one last time before disappearing into the night. Once she’s sure he’s gone, she opens the trapdoor to her room and goes downstairs. She sits on the edge of her bed, putting her head in her hands and lets the tears come.


	11. Distractions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette and Adrien worry about how the other is doing, whether they know or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for how short this chapter is, but the last will be much longer and this is mostly to see how they're doing in between chapters.

Marinette looks out the window. She wonders where Chat was now. Probably sitting, doing work or going to school… probably the exact same things she did. Only he probably wasn’t waiting for her. She didn’t want to wait for him. She didn’t have the time. Plus, she had a boyfriend. It wasn’t fair to him for her to be pining over some mystery man. She looks at her boyfriend, sitting in front of her. It had seemed like he’d had something on his mind lately, too. She wonders what could be bothering him. She makes a mental note to ask him about it later.

* * *

Adrien looks over at Marinette out of the corner of his eye, walking with her down the hall. He still feels guilty. He had just started going out with her, why had he been flirting with Ladybug? It wasn’t either of their faults that he had done that. He had to tell Marinette. He couldn’t… but what would he say? ‘Hey Marinette, I made out with the really popular superhero Ladybug and literally no one saw it, but yeah, sorry’? He had no idea how to tell her without saying he was Chat. He didn’t want that, though. It would only complicate her life, and he didn’t want that for her. He had enough trouble with it. She didn’t need that.


	12. Au Revoir

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette and Chat say Au Revoir

“Chat! Pay attention!”

“Sorry, Lady. I’ve got it.”

“Just be careful.”

Ladybug jumps, dodging yet another slash of the blade. She watches carefully as the samurai tries to circle around behind her, but she’s one step ahead of him. She spins her yoyo, stepping slowly and watching his movements. She sees him tense, ready to leap at her. She easily sidesteps as he stabs at her center…

But she didn’t take into account that Chat was standing right behind her. That he would take the blade in his own stomach. She doesn’t make a sound when she sees the blade rip from him. She doesn’t move, not until she sees him stumble back, eyes wide.

She snaps out of it, scooping up Chat and jumping away. The akuma could wait. He needed medical attention, now.

She gets what she believes to be a safe distance away and lands on a roof… her own roof, where she rests him on the floor with his head resting against the railing. He seems just about as shocked as she does, although that might be actual shock.

“Chat… Chat are you… oh god…”

He laughs, putting his hands on his stomach. “This isn’t how I imagined you’d be saying that…”

“This isn’t the time…” She looks around frantically. She had to do something, anything. She puts her hands over the hole, applying pressure to the wound.

“Can you… please tell my dad I’m sorry and… tell Marinette everything…”

“Chat… what are you talking about, you’ll be fine. You just… you need a hospital.”

“No, Ladybug… listen. I need to tell you who I am. Someone needs to know.”

“No, Chat. You are not gonna die. No one needs to know anything.”

She gasps when she feels his hand on her own. It was cold. He had lost more blood than she realized, and bouncing him around probably hadn’t helped. A pool of red spreads further from his torso as she looks up at him and sees how ashen his face is. “Ladybug, please. It’s important. Tell Marinette I’m sorry for kissing you.”

“What? Chat what are you talking about? Who’s Marinette-” She stops herself from saying ‘to you’.

“Promise me you’ll let her know what happened. Everything.”

“I- of course. Whatever you need.”

He nods, closing his eyes. He lifts up his ring and detransforms, the black catsuit slowly disappearing to reveal blond hair, green eyes, and the pale skin of Adrien. Adrien Agreste, the boy model she had admired all this time, who she was thrilled to be dating, who she had ‘broken up’ with Chat Noir over… was in fact the feline himself.

She starts to laugh, bouncing a little on the wound which causes him to wince. Then she starts to cry, trying to keep her hands steady over the wound so as not to hurt him.

“Wh-what’s so funny, Ladybug? Do you know me?”

She nods, still laughing through her tears. She lifts up her own ring, detransforming back into herself. Into Marinette. She looks at him through watery eyes, seeing his own widen.

“M-marinette? I… oh god I’m an idiot.”

“We’re both idiots. So… it seems like I didn’t cheat, and neither did you.”

He smiles, looking paler by the second. Blood was seeping into her clothes, as well as his. His voice is weaker than before.

“Guess not. I’m sorry I… that we never knew before now.”

“Me too. It would have made everything so much easier.”

“Marinette… I love you, okay? No matter how you dress.” He reaches up, holding her face in one of his cold, shaking hands. She reaches up, gripping it with her own bloody one.

“I love you too.”

“Well… I guess that… this is adieu.”

She shakes her head, wiping away the tears rolling down his cheek with her free hand and leaving a streak of red on his face.

“No Chat. This is only au revoir.”

She leans in and kisses him, one last time.


	13. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Surprises

Marinette tossed her lucky charm in the air, butterflies exploding and spreading out over the city. The poor citizen who had been akumatized sat dazedly on the sidewalk. She stares at the spot for a long time, almost as if waiting for the sky to change. It didn’t seem right, the sun being out, the sky clear… not after what had happened.

“You’ll hurt your neck like that, My Lady.”

Marinette sucks in a breath at the voice, whipping around to see… him. He was standing just there, as blond and tall and perfectly normal as always.

Adrien holds his arms out, as if waiting for a hug.

She felt the tears well in her eyes, and she ran to him, half tackling him in a hug. She let out a sob into his chest, tears soaking his shirt as he wrapped his arms around her.

After holding him for a few minutes, she shoved him away, punching him.

“I thought you died!”

He rubs at his arm where her fist had landed, chuckling a bit.

“Well… I did. But… it seems that your Miraculous has more power than either of us know. I woke up surrounded by butterflies.”

She carefully studies his face for a moment before hugging him hard once again.

“I’m just glad you’re okay… and that we don’t have to hide anymore.”

“Well, that and you were right.”

She looks up at him, expression confused.

“Right about what?”

“It was only au revoir.”


End file.
